LIVE: Marco Rubio Meets Robert Fico in Bratislava | Full Joint Press Conference | AC1Z

After his presidency, that we expect every country in the world. We expect every country in the world to act in their national interests. That is what countries are supposed to do. That was the leaders of their countries. I don't know why that is like a strange consideration. The fact of the matter is, policy the exact same way. Now, when our national interests are aligned, when the national interest of the United States, for example, the national interests of Slovakia are aligned, this is an extraordinary opportunity for cooperation and for partnership. Where there might be some misalignment, well, that's where the relationship comes in. That's where the partnership comes in. That's where we try to accommodate one another and find a way forward. There's nothing controversial about that, at least not as long as President Trump is in the White House. And we believe that within the area of common alignment, there are so many things we can work on together that are good for your country, good for our country, but frankly good for Europe and good for the world. I also appreciate your input with regards to the war in Ukraine. It is important that we take as many viewpoints. Your viewpoint and the viewpoint that you've expressed both to me and publicly as well is one that's informed by both your geography and by your history. And it's a very important point of view to take into account in the broader context. As I said yesterday in response to some questions in Munich, we view the United States' role as one of trying to facilitate an end to a very deadly, very bloody, very, very costly war with horrible suffering. What's happening in Kyiv right now is horrifying. You know, people in the coldest part of the year, you know, not going without electricity and energy. There's nothing positive about that. The death, regardless of what the numbers are on both sides, way too high. And the president has spent a year at the highest levels of our government trying to find whether we can be facilitators of a negotiated end to this terrible conflict. And it is something that we care about, but it is something you live next door to. You're on the border. You're right there. You face, and not only do you have to face the consequences of the war, but you also have to face the benefits or the consequences of the peace. So we appreciate your input in that regard. We've talked about a lot of things we have an opportunity to work together on. Energy is one of them. I think you have an opportunity as a nation, not just because you can generate energy, to also be in a very advantageous role when it comes to new technologies like artificial intelligence, as an example. It's an opportunity there. There's a very energy-dependent industry, and so it's something we can work together on. We're always talking about military sales, and this is important. We're very happy that the F-16 program is your program of choice. We hope you'll consider some others as well that we can work together on, because one of the key components of any country's national interest is the ability to protect their people. There is no more important obligation of any government than the ability to protect your own people and your own nation. This is why, by the way, we talk about the importance of our partners having capabilities in NATO. Every time we say this, people, you know, they go crazy. They think, 'Oh, that means you're going to abandon NATO. You're going to abandon your allies.' I think the point we're making is that the stronger our allies are, the stronger we are collectively, the stronger we are collectively, and so we want to play a positive role in that regard. And you're doing many good things in that space, and we want to thank you and want to continue to work with you on that. So there are many things that we have an opportunity to work together on, but first, thank you for receiving me here on a Sunday, and I try never to burden people on Sundays. It's an important day for me because of my faith, and I know for many of you as well. But I thank you for opening the space to us on this day, because we wanted to show, and we are showing, and we are going to show in the weeks and months and years to come, that under President Trump, this administration is going to make not just Slovakia but Central Europe a key component of how we engage the continent and the world, and that we are not just going to engage in meetings and pleasantries, but in concrete actions that we will take together in ways that are beneficial to your people and our people, ways that are beneficial to your country and our country. I'm very excited about this opportunity. I know the president is as well. That's why I'm here. When did we meet? It wasn't too long ago. It was just a few weeks ago. A few weeks. And here we are. So, and we'll be back, and we'll be sending others back. And I think some members of your team are going to be coming to Washington this week to have a conversation. So you're going to get used to seeing us, and you're going to get used to dealing with us, because we're very happy to be here, and we look forward to working with you very closely. Thank you.

Go first. Okay. On NATO, I don't understand. The United States has thousands and thousands of troops deployed to the NATO mission, and we've made very, I think it was made very clear at the summit just a few days ago at the meeting of the defense minister level. We're not leaving NATO. We're not leaving. I mean, we may move a couple thousand troops from one country to another, but this has always been the case. This has always happened. By the way, we are not threatened or feel that it's hostile to see NATO grow in its own capabilities, not independent of the United States, in conjunction with the United States. We don't think it's a negative thing that other countries have more influence in NATO, other partner nations have more influence in NATO, or that other countries within NATO have more capability. We view that as a positive. I see it reported yesterday in some places, oh, the Europeans are very upset. They're going to be less dependent on America. Now, we never, we don't want Europe to be dependent on, we're not asking Europe to be a vassal of the United States. We want to be your partner. We want to work with Europe. We want to work with our allies. We want to work in cooperation with you. And our point has been and continues to be: the stronger you are, both on an individual basis in terms of countries and collectively as an alliance, the stronger the members of NATO are, the stronger NATO is. That's not minus the United States. That's just common sense. Okay? If you have an alliance made up of countries, the stronger all those members are, the stronger the alliance is, and we want the alliance to be so strong that no one will ever dare test it. No one will ever dare challenge it. So we welcome any measures that are taken to strengthen the alliance by the individual members, and we see that as a very positive thing.

Thanks very much, Mr. Secretary. Will the Trump administration consult and inform Congress in advance if it decides to attack Iran or remove the Supreme Leader? It's a question on the minds of many, given the major potential consequences of a new war in the Middle East. And also, five European countries issued a joint statement saying Alexei Navalny was most likely poisoned by a toxin found in South America, a South American frog. How come the United States didn't join the statement? Any response to it?

And then, Mr. Prime Minister, sorry to interrupt. Thank you for your hospitality. On Venezuela, you strongly opposed America's removal of Maduro by force, saying it demonstrates a deepening breakdown of the international order. Do you still feel that way, given where we're at now? And also, you've denied saying that you were worried about President Trump's psychological state following your meeting with him in Mar-a-Lago. Can you explain how this was potentially misinterpreted?

Let me go first on your... I'm not going to talk about attacks on Iran or anything of that nature because the president's made clear he prefers diplomacy and an outcome of negotiated settlement. Now, we're dealing with radical Shia clerics. Okay? We're dealing with people who make geopolitical decisions on the basis of pure theology. And it's a complicated thing. No one's ever been able to do a successful deal with Iran, but we're going to try. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will be, I think they're traveling right now to have important meetings, and we'll see how that turns out. And we'll always comply with the applicable laws of the United States in terms of involving Congress in any decisions. But right now we're not talking about any of that. We are postured in the region for one simple reason, and that is that we understand that there could be threats to our forces in the region. We've seen them be threatened in the past, and we want to make sure that we have sufficient capacity to defend them if, God forbid, that were to happen. We'll follow whatever the law is on it, and it depends on the circumstances that lead to it. But right now we're talking about negotiations. We are focused on negotiations. That's what we're... the president's made that clear. If that changes, it'll be obvious to everyone. And obviously, whatever the law requires us to do, we'll do. With regards to your question about the frog toxin, no, it's a very serious thing. Look, those countries came to that conclusion. They coordinated that. We chose... doesn't mean we disagree with the outcome. We just wasn't, you know, our endeavor. Sometimes countries go out and do their thing based on the intelligence they've gathered. We obviously are aware of the report. It's a troubling report. We're aware of that case of Mr. Navalny, and certainly it's, you know, we don't have any reason to question it, or we're not disputing or getting into a fight with these countries over it. But it was their report, and they put that out there. And let me just make one more point, because I think you asked him a question in order to, like, see if you can get him against us with something about, oh, you criticize. A lot of countries didn't like what we did in Venezuela. That's okay. That was in our national interest. I'm sure there's something he'll do one day that we don't like, and we'll say, hey, we didn't like you did this. So what? That doesn't mean we're not going to be friends. We're not going to be partners. We're not going to be able to cooperate with one another. Countries express their opinion all the time. We have very close allies that didn't like what we did in that regard. But I can tell you what, it was successful. We're proud of it. It was necessary because the guy was a narco-terrorist, and we made him a bunch of offers, and he chose to... and look what's happened in Venezuela in the six weeks since he's been gone. Okay, it is a... now it's got a long way to go. There's still much work that needs to be done, but I can tell you Venezuela is much better off today than it was six weeks ago. So, you know, we're very proud of that project. And, you know, I know some will disagree and didn't like, but irrespective, I think everyone agrees that Venezuela has an opportunity and a new future that wasn't there six weeks ago.

member of NATO or that member of NATO in terms of what they're doing or not doing with regards to the alliance. I was giving a speech about our relationship, the transatlantic alliance as they call it, which on the military front is largely built on NATO, and on the commercial and economic front is built through the European Union, and obviously to non-members of the European Union then through bilateral agreements with them. And the core point of my speech yesterday remains that our relationship to Europe as a continent, the transatlantic relationship, is not just a military alliance, it is not just a commercial alliance or trade alliance. If it was just built on commerce and military, then this is very transactional, and it's only going to be an alliance as long as it's mutually beneficial in that regard. The point of my argument yesterday was that our transatlantic alliance, as it's been called, is built on something even more important and more enduring, and that is the ties we have as people: cultural ties, historical ties, religious ties, you know, direct descendants in many cases, etc., shared experience. And that's the point of it. And as far as if you want to talk about NATO specifically, yeah, I mean, I don't think this is a mystery. This has been something the president's talked about since his first administration as 45th president of the United States, and that is that he wants NATO to be stronger. And in order for NATO to be stronger, the member states have to be stronger. But that's the point. I think we're headed in a good path in that regard. I think we've seen a tremendous amount of progress, and we'll continue to see progress in that direction, I hope, because it makes the alliance stronger. And asking member states of NATO to be stronger is not a threat to say, well, if you're not stronger, then we're going to, you know... it's to point out to everybody that it is a stronger alliance. We are collectively stronger when we are individually stronger on what our capabilities you bring. And every nation has a unique situation. Every nation that's a member of the coalition of NATO has, in some cases, some strategic advantages, special things that they can bring to the table that perhaps another member state cannot. That has to be accounted as well.